Fitness equipment maker Dyaco International Inc (岱宇國際) yesterday announced that it is to acquire North American exercise equipment brand Sole Fitness as part of its goal of transforming into an original brand manufacturer.
The company’s board of directors earlier yesterday approved the 100 percent share purchase of Fitness Equipment Services LLC for US$28 million on top of the net value of its assets and liabilities on the closing date of the deal, Dyaco said in an e-mailed statement, without giving a clear timeframe.
In a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange later yesterday, Dyaco said that it plans to set up a new US subsidiary to take over Sole Fitness, with an initial investment of US$35 million.
Sole Fitness is a major fitness equipment brand in North America targeting the mid-to-high-end home fitness equipment market, it said.
The two sides have been collaborating for 18 years, it added.
Dyaco supplies products to Sole Fitness on an original design manufacturing basis and helps sell the brand’s products outside of North America, Dyaco said, adding that it also assists in product development and design, patent filings and after-sales maintenance services.
Sole Fitness has posted about NT$2.3 billion (US$76.4 million) in average annual sales over the past three years, with an average gross margin of 23 percent and net profit of approximately NT$130 million, which would boost Dyaco’s finances, chairman Michael Lin (林英俊) said in the statement.
In addition, through the integration of resources on both sides, the acquisition would help Dyaco improve sales from online channels to physical stores in North America and further enhance the firm’s global competitiveness in the fitness equipment industry, Lin said.
Dyaco, which is headquartered in Taipei and has factories in Changhua County, manufactures fitness, health and wellness products for the home, commercial and medical markets. The company owns fitness equipment brands Spirit Fitness and Xterra Fitness, as well as produces and distributes products for other brands including Sole Fitness and Fuel Fitness.
Dyaco reported cumulative sales of NT$5.25 billion for the first 11 months of last year, up 7.34 percent year-on-year from NT$4.9 billion, while net profit for the first three quarters of last year increased to NT$112.91 million, from NT$7.36 million a year earlier.
Dyaco said in a separate filing that it is financially sound to carry out the acquisition, as it plans to use its own capital and bank loans, and would pay for the transaction in installments.
It added that it expects this month to complete a rights issue to raise NT$741 million.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
RSS